Hana Financial inks cooperation agreement with France's Crédit Agricole CIB

Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung, right, and Credit Agricole CIB CEO Xavier Musca pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held in Montrouge, France on Wednesday. [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]

Hana Financial Group signed a business agreement with France’s Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) to expand its European operations, the financial firm said Friday.

The areas of future collaborations include corporate in investment banking, treasuries, trade finance and ESG — environment, social and governance — financing across the European market, according to Hana Financial Group.

Representatives from Hana, including Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung, visited Crédit Agricole’s headquarters in Montrouge on Wednesday to meet the French firm’s top executives including Crédit Agricole CIB CEO Xavier Musca and Senior Country Officer of Korea Gérald Massenet for the signing of the agreement.

The Korean and French firms first made inroads into each other’s home countries in 1974, the first banks to do so in respective nations.

“Hana Financial Group’s global standing in the European financial market has become more solid with the collaboration between the two firms, which have gained trust in each other’s home countries over a long time,” said Lee.

With the signing of the latest deal, Hana plans to further accelerate its growth in Europe.

The plan includes expanding its investment banking office based in London, as well as more local branches in the region in addition to the bank’s Budapest office, which opened in March, and the upcoming Polish office.

Hana currently has a presence in seven countries in the European region.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]